Michael Kaufman, a retiree who lives in Boca Raton, Florida, was heading to New York to stay with his daughter. He's ridden out hurricanes before, but realized Irma was a monster storm when his daughter asked for a copy of his will.

"They said it was gonna be a Category 4 or 5, which is a killer storm, which has the capability of probably knocking down houses and structures, leaving us with no power for weeks on end, and we said, 'This is the time to leave, do something smart.'"

As he flees the hurricane, Kaufman is looking on the bright side: "Since I'm retired now, we made this into a mini adventure."